Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
gainfully employed, and established Venice as Europe's entertainment capital. Even in the
dark days of the plague, Venetian artists Titian and Tintoretto filled the city with light and
colour. Venice's Biennale and film festival keep inspiration coming to the city, and the
Peggy Guggenheim Collection helped raise the city's spirits and broaden its horizons after
WWII.
Today Venice's arts traditions are upheld by civic institutions such as La Fenice, Gol-
doni Theatre, the Biennale and a dozen world-class museums. Yet with Italy's ongoing re-
cession straining resources, public and private arts gigs are tough to find. Mose barriers
are intended to prevent flooding, but with billions of euros directed towards its establish-
ment by 2014, it has drained funds that might have supported other programs essential to
city life - including the arts.
This is where you enter the picture. Venice's admirers have been the heroes of its story
many times, not only funding vital restorations after the devastating flood of 1966, but
also filling its concert halls and galleries, keeping its signature arts and crafts traditions
alive, and providing a steady stream of outside inspiration. So when Venetians thank you
for visiting, they mean it.
A Few Words from Our Sponsor
As Venice thinks ahead to its next act, its spectacular past remains both a blessing and a
burden. For decades, Venice's 'Special Law' allowed the city to keep a portion of its tax
revenues to defray city upkeep. This revenue has been gradually eroded as Italy redirects
funds to service its growing debt, which has reached 120% of GDP. International non-
profit organisations have generously donated funds to help keep Venice afloat - but often
their grants are earmarked for preservation of Venice's heritage rather than projects essen-
tial to Venice's future, such as public works maintenance or support for its living legacy of
artisans and musicians.
To raise restoration funds, Venice has recently relaxed historic-preservation rules, al-
lowing anachronistic advertising banners on historic buildings undergoing corporate-
sponsored restoration works. The Ponte dei Sospiri is only now rekindling its romance
with Venetian gondoliers, who avoided it while it was draped in advertising during its
three-year, €3-million restoration, cheekily dubbing it the 'Bridge of Signs'.
But there may be a new candidate for the nickname. After stones fell off the Rialto
bridge, Venice's council invited bids to sponsor an essential €5- million Rialto restoration;
Italian fashion company Diesel won. Sighs of relief and audible groans were heard across
